XFX officially launched its new R9 200 series line-up a couple of days ago and at the press time it consists of R9 280X and R9 270X graphics cards. Today we want to share our first thoughts about XFX's Double Dissipation (DD) R9 280X 1000M Boost 3GB GDDR5 (D5) Ghost2 Thermal Dual Mini DisplayPort (2xm DP) HDMI 2XDVI or Part No.: R9-280X-TDFD. For obvious reasons, we will use short part number in our preview.

When we heard that XFX is working on a new cooler we could not wait to give it a go in our bench rig. Why? Because AMD's own cooling solution for the R9 280X did not end up as quiet as we all hoped it would be.

Just to refresh your memory, XFX was among first to hit the market with non-reference HD 7900 graphics cards. The cards featured high factory overclock but thanks to the Ghost Thermal Technology and XFX's Double Dissipation cooler the GPU thermals were kept in check and at of that our ears were threated more gently compared to the reference cooler, i.e. the Double Dissipation cooler on HD 7900 series managed to provide good cooling while keeping noise levels at a reasonable level; it was not completely silent but not loud, either.

However standards have now changed and users strive for silence, mainly thanks to Nvidia and the Titan cooler which now serves as reference for comparison of high-end graphics cards, at least when it comes to noise levels.

AMD managed to create reference cooler for Volcanic-Islands which is quieter compared to the previous generation, but as we already noted it is not silent.

Aside from performance, a quiet cooler is very important feature to have. XFX decided to made revolutionary changes on its Double Dissipation cooler design. New Double Dissipation cooler created for the R9-280X-TDFD sports a bigger dissipation surface, which is achieved by extending the cooler's height one and half centimeters over the standard size. Updated: The shroud house two 85mm fans.

With the R9-280X-TDFD, XFX is addressing overclockers too by unlocking voltages. Note we are not talking about a Black Edition card because XFX needs some time for the GPU binning process in order to find the best of the best GPUs. The card we got works at reference clocks which are 1000MHz for the GPU and 1500MHz (6000MHz effectively) for 3GB of GDDR5 memory.

The card comes with two mini-DisplayPorts, one standard HDMI and two DVI connectors. It needs one 8-pin and one 6-pin power cable for normal operation. The PCB length is 26.7cm while the card with the cooler measures 28.4cm.

Under load the GPU temperature hits 65 degrees Celsius in 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme test. It is obvious that the Dual Dissipation cooler does a better job than the reference one. In idle we measured 35 degrees Celsius. We were particularly impressed by the noise levels. The fans were nearly silent even under load.

We still have a lot of work before ahead of us, but the full preview should be done soon.

Powercolor has announced a new series of double blade fans that were developed in cooperation with its thermal partner, Double Blades.

The new design adds an extra fan blade that is actually attached to the original one and can absorb airflow into the center thus providing up to 20 percent more airflow when compared to the traditional and exsiting thermal designs. The new design also prevends the dust depositing at the bearings and/or at the bottom of the fan and prolonging the life cycle of the cooler as well as the graphics card.

According to Powercolor/TuL, the new Double Blades design will be implemented in future graphics card coolers and out best bet are the first custom cooled Volcanic Islands based graphics cards. Of course, if AMD gives a green light on custom designs and do not stick to reference one.

AMD is planning to hold an event in Hawaii in the last week of September. It sounds like and smells like a Radeon launch event, but the company told SemiAccurate that the event will be a tech day, not a launch.

AMD’s island hopping campaign is set to continue, but at this point it is unclear what’s in store for September. It might be a “tech day” or a paper launch, with the actual launch later in Q4.

Given the timeline, there is practically no doubt that Hawaii will be a 28nm part, as TSMC is not quite ready for 20nm yet.

However, as Charlie points out the event sounds a bit too elaborate and costly for a mere tech day. AMD will have to fly legions of geek hacks from Europe, the US and Asia to Hawaii and it seems like a lot of effort and cash for a non-launch event.

We have to agree. It just sounds like a launch event, or a very pricey way of taking a bunch of journos to see the USS Arizona memorial. Who knows, maybe someone at AMD is really into naval history?

Volcanic Islands are AMD’s codename for next-gen GPUs, but the next-next-gen parts may end up with a more colourful codename – Pirate Islands.

Of course, this is just a rumour at this point, so take it with a grain of salt. According to 3Dcenter.org, the new names are indeed legit and they include three GPUs, Bermuna, Fiji and Treasure Island. All three appear to be 20nm parts, which means they’re not coming anytime soon.

As for Volcanic Islands, the codenames are New Zealand (again), Hawaii, Maui, Iceland and Tonga. They should appear in late 2013, but details are still sketchy. Let's just hope they're more Captain Sparrow than Capitan Morgan.

TSMC’s 20nm node won’t be ready for mass production as soon as GPU makers would like, hence it should take at least six months before we see the first 20nm Radeons and Geforces.